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Plasmids
Sitemap Plasmids (and Tonics too) . . . . . . . . * See also ADAM_Technology * See also Example_Of_Plasmid_Progression * Making Plasmids More Sci-Fi <<<<< MOVE ALL THE STUFF HERE . . . . . . . . . Plasmid - "That Introduce Modified Stem Cells Into the Body, Allowing for Genetic Modification and Mtation" : This may need elaboration (ALOT) on, as in the Real World, stem cells are cells which can be used to rebuild tissue of varying kinds in the right place (somehow stimulated by adjacent tissues), which is why REAL WORLD doctors are so interested in them -- As they can repair largely destroyed tissue. They work off the existing genetic pattern of the individual (the human patient), which is probably why the most promising research is for 'adult stem cells' - cells taken from the patient themselves and somehow made to revert to act as stem-cells to be used where needed. Anyway, the stem-cells function of the Plasmids has to be matched by the genetic directives to modify the persons existing tissue into the structure/function the Plasmid is designed for -- So it INCLUDES that new genetic information also. How much the ADAM is Stem-cells (processed into Human-ish type - as it did allegedly come from a Sea Slug after all), OR RATHER BETTER IF IT causes existing tissue (with the needed base DNA) to function-like/convert-to stem-cells, with the pattern data for the final resulting "genetic modification and mutation" being included as a component of the Plasmid (and in Tonics also). --- --- --- Are Plasmids/Tonics Sci-Fi or Fantasy ? : Gene Splicing is within the realm of possibility (in the real world), but it would be more likely to have a working result when it is a modification to create some natural (existing) mechanisms, IE- body regeneration or enhanced muscle strength or faster reactions (more Tonic like things). So, would Rapture, with a scientific/technological expansion of such genetic manipulation, make possible BioShock's much more spectacular Plasmids (like Electro-Bolt, and Incinerate!) ? Look at existing natural Biological Analogies : * Extreme Speed/Reflex Reaction (way cats kill poisonous snakes even better than mongooses do, and with better coordination). * Electric Eels which charge up battery-like cells in their body and can shock with hundreds of volts (usually expressed as 'Enough to Stun a horse'). * More accurate and/or Heightened sensory abilities (cats see in near darkness, bats hearing in extended supersonic ranges, dogs having olfactory accuteness hundreds of times of humans, etc...). * Regeneration of Tissue - amphibians can regrow limbs (slowly). Your liver can regenerate itself (cut half of it away and it will regrow). * Great Strength (ever read about a person on PCP, or the steroid swilling athletes ?...) * Squid that Stun/Confuse prey with scintillating light/pigment flashes (also their ink trick...) * Sound used to Stun prey (Dolphins use their sonar to stun and catch small fish) * Magician's magic tricks (misdirection and distraction to cover quite ordinary physcial manipulations - combined with speed and deftness) * Fire Breathing Act (fuel from all that alcohol you drink in the game or biologically produced, methane..) * Projected OR on direct immediate contact (contact incindiaries or strong painful/burning sensation irritants .. just bio-chemistry) * Psychophysiological Effects. Brain function enhancement, focusers (all those expensive concentration drinks they sell these days). Acuity/awareness - better interpretation of small clues. * Spraying/squirting/emanating Chemicals, (snakes spit venom...) Various noxious poisons/hallucinogens/irritants. The Incinerate! Plasmid doesn't have to be real fire. Possibly, Jack or Delta are shooting superheated chemicals from their hands, similar to the Bombardier Beetle. Couldn't a genetically altered human with appropriate physical structure be capable of this? * Cyclone Trap effect could be a mass of explosive gas (biologically produced methane) and act like a mine being disturbed (a frothy mass to contain it (ick) and make it persist) * Rage Inducing - Berserker drugs used to psyche up warriors in many cultures - projected at opponent. A documentary I saw a few years ago talked about Zulu medicine-men giving their warriors a chemical which greatly magnified their 'rage' in fighting (turning them into a variant of a berserker). Viking Berserkers were notoriously problematic because they often attacked friendly troops beside them if they weren't concentrated upon an enemy to attack. Projecting such a quick acting chemical on someone via a Plasmid blob projectile (bio-potato cannon) sounds plausible (with NO Magic required). * Hallucinogenic substances (lots) to enhance effects, distract/impair opponent (goes a long way to assist various implied 'Psi' effects. * Alot of Placebo Effect (imagined effects) - enemies brains fill in the details for Plasmid effects which aren't quite what they claim to be. Mental Distractions, Confusion, etc... Consider that alot of Splicers are pretty 'mental' to begin with (when previously the reality might have been a 'joke' with consumers'. * Vita Chambers allegedly using Teleportation could just be a marketing ploy or rumors (you can be carried to it or crawl yourself and forget you did it)? Direct effect on the User of course is simpler than projecting upon an opponent, but there are ways to accomplish that. - Some Plasmids effects are really hard to justify (as Sci-Fi) IF they actually were to be what they appear/claim to be. But, What IF they are substituted with something else, something more physically possible, which might LOOK like they do something 'magical' or unreal (Psi effects on the user as well as the target... that could account for 'what we see' ). The Teleport thing has been reported in-game to be artificial/faked, as you can see the 'teleporting' Houdini Splicer's steps moving thru water (seen probably at the Triton theater lobby ...) You will notice IN THE GAME (thus canon...) that many ADAM powers, IF they literally were what they were called, should have operated differently than how they did : Telekinesis did NOT work thru windows (like for remote hacking the Jedi way...) and you didn't seem to be able to english your projectiles around things and it was line of sight. Flames generated (things set on fire) seemed to go out rather quickly (as if self-extinguishing). Gravity Well did NOT work through walls/windows - did NOT pull things on the other side of windows/walls (real gravity is NOT impeded by other matter) Electricity doesn't shoot out through air the distances shown when the return ground is at the throwers feet (electricity follows the shortest path and is drawn to it...) or arc direct across their hands at the required 'throw' voltage. A projected liquid or other conductor towards the target CAN instead conduct sufficient electricity with lower resistance. Various Lasers don't go through Windows. Strangely, I have seen Cyclone Trap be projected/placed through SOME windows (so there obviously is a inconsistency issue here also). The combining with other Plasmids which would require an active user would complicate the 'Trap' modifications to the Cyclone Trap, but these could be plausibly dropped. - A General Mechanism to Make Plasmid Effects More Plausible (To Sci-Fi Following Natural/Physical Laws) : For Teleport your brain is being jammed/distorted more completely, so that your sense of time and your environment (specifically the Splicer) is blocked sufficiently, and meanwhile they do some things (like go distances or climb) without you realizing it until they "re-appear" as the jamming ends. With 'Perception' type mechanisms like that, many of the ADAM effects become a little more possible, rather than them being Physics breaking magic (This could also include the perceptions of the ADAM user themselves - as 'Teleport' was sold as a 'Time Saving' product). --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- Evidence Ryan Companies Were Producing ADAM Products BEFORE He Took Over Fontaine Futuristics In 1959 : That Presentation in the Bathysphere as you descend, has an "Incinerate!" Plasmid advertisement with Ryan Industries as the brand. Why would that little Welcome Presentation be reworked with new content like that ? -- Since by then noone was coming to Rapture to see such a thing (-OR- was Ryan bringing more people down at that late a time - still hardly the ordinary immigrants that spiel was originally created for??). Signs on the buildings... Who has time to put up advertising signs during a Civil War and when noone is riding Bathyspheres any more to be able to see them ?? So this may imply that Ryan Industries (and others) were creating there own Plasmids/Tonics (maybe not the volume or as many types as Fontaine was producing, as he had a bigger ADAM supply, and a major head start on development and research). Timeframe mid-50s maybe ?? Ryan, taking his own advice to "make a better product" ? It never was made clear how many others (like Sinclair), eventually also were in the ADAM producing business. Perhaps quite a few were, and many of them specialized -- like for the many various medical treatments. We did see evidence of bootleggers of these products. - Hmm, ADAM Cancer Therapy Drugs to be sold on the Surface to a few rich people willing to pay anything to continue living - that might make an interesting plotline to include in the expanded 'canon'. --- --- --- Possible Scientific Explanation for ADAM Plasmids/Tonics working (at least being physically possible) : As for Science even being capable of such a thing - keeping it simple helps. I don't recall in the Novel that they had poly-Splicers like you (the Player), and what a few Bosses turn into in the games. They mostly had only one/a-few Plasmids for any individual. Plasmids/Tonics would likely interfere with each other with the changes they make to your body. Any Presto-Chango switching of our hand Plasmid in the game would require almost instant major structural changes, repeatedly (hand going fire to ice to lightning bolt, etc..). Tissue really cannot change that fast structurally. Massive genetic manipulations to build the physical structures in parts of your body are a bit hard to just put in a bottle to be injected, and then have them modify you and take effect in seconds. Likely the process would use a very sophisticated time delay of separate components introduced to your blood for the different phases of the 'treatment' (changing multitude of genes/waiting for targeted tissues to change before the next incremental change, etc ...). The process would still take quite a bit of time for the metabolic functions to reorganize and rebuild tissue (like days). (( '' Sorry, the transformation of 'The Hulk' is just comic book fantasy. '' )) The ADAM itself SHOULDN'T BE "Stem-Cells". Instead the Slug-originated chemical should be causing your body to convert Stem-Cells rapidly - cells/tissue which would already match YOUR genetics - YOUR DNA (( '' How exactly a Sea Slug should have YOUR exact DNA was a little issue the writers avoided '' )) The unformed T-Cells then would have the genetic "Plasmid" (mod) component applied, guiding the changes, to bring the desired tissue changes/building I would think that Injecting those Plasmid juices into the actual arm/hand WHERE the flame/ice/electricity shoots out also would help localize the concoction to more efficiently produce the structural changes (that would certainly speed the process up). Keep it 'isolated' with a tourniquet, etc... --- --- --- Mitochondrial Plasmid : "Plasmids" ''' are a technical name for loops of DNA existing within cell organelles. 'Mitochodria' are orgonelles within cells, which convert sugars to the chemicals (like ATP) used to power operations within the cell. Increased Powering of cells/tissues is important for many of the Plasmids effects to work as seen. Think of Electro-Bolt or Incinerate! which require not just generation but also storing up energy to 'let-fly' with. Chemical energy conversion of significant amounts is called for in the specialized tissues the Plasmids form in the Splicers body. Other 'Plasmids' would be the genetic cell modifications localized to parts of the body involved with the ADAM Plasmid effects in concert with Stem Cells (malleable new tissue) used to construct the necessary Plasmid tissues, which perform the Plasmid/Tonic's features. Early research (see The Novel) turned test subjects, into globs/messes of tissue. SO, localization and coordination of modifications to the human's body would be of priority. Isolating tissue changes and NOT disrupting the rest of the body is critical to success. (See elsewhere for (hopefully) plausible Sci-Fi justifications of the Plasmids/Tonics/Slots) --- --- --- '''Look At Existing Biological Analogies To Base Splicer Abilities On : * Extreme speed/reflex (way cats can kill poisonous snakes) * Electric eel's shock * Squids that stun/confuse prey with scintillating light flashes (also their ink trick ...) * Sound to stun prey (Dolphins) or projecting very loud sounds * Magicians magic tricks (misdirection and distraction (coordination) to cover/obscure ordinary actions) * Fire breathing act (simply using all that alcohol you drink in the game sprayed and ignited) ... flames/smoke * Various poisons/hallucinogens/irritants squirted at the target - causing impairment/warping of sensory abiliies * Glues to entangle/encumber * Psychological effects (impelled by various sensor 'stimulation'/attacks). Some Plasmids effects are really hard to justify if they actually were what they appear to be, but if they are substituted with something else more physically possible, then that might LOOK like they do work ... --- --- --- How to DO Plasmid (and Tonics) Without Fantasy Magic : ' I've mention that many of the 'laws of physically' impossible things Plasmids are shown to do could actually be done using something Semi-realistic. * The throwing Electricity is actually projecting charged plasma gas (like ball lightning) instead of an electric current that cannot flow thru air normally (problems with generating a 'charged plasma gas') Maybe better is like a taser with projected darts and 'wires' to do the conducting from your body, and a electric eel-like voltage generator/battery within your body. * The Ice thing is something else (spewing cryogenic gas is MUCH harder than spraying a combustible fluid that ignites on the way to the target). So is it some Super-chilled liquid, or is it really a big mass of insta-super-glue ??? * Many of the other Plasmids rely on some "psi" effects which are pretty Borderline, except that if the effect is to bombard parts of your brain with microwaves (correctly) or even Flash lights in your eyes it can have a real effect in disrupting your brain. There would have to be some biological/physiological way of generating/projecting those ... * Teleportation we really don't have anything close to technology-wise/within the Laws of Physics (Why I figure it would need to be some other explanation to avoid being 'Magic'. I have to lean on technological/organic pseudo "psi" 'appearance' effects.) Teleportation thus may only then really be the Houdini Splicer 'Clouding Your Mind', and then walking to its new place while you are distracted/impaired ... (Note that Puff of Smoke and a Bell Ringing). * Telekinesis is greater strength to throw something, after using a Mind Clouding effect so you don't see the guy simply walk over to pick the thing up (Or, Hmm, some ''spidey silk mechanism to physically PULL the item from a distance ???) Even the Insect Swarm may be a clouding/mental attack, and that attack propelling exploding spitballs. Or better : Induced spasms that do the damage instead of anything insect-like actually attacking them. - 'Example of 'Sortof' ' : You get sprayed with a chemical that when you inhale it makes you lungs (and skin ?) feel like they are on fire. Same if you get it in your eyes. That may give the impression to a doped-up ADAM-Addict that they are "On Fire!!!!", no ? - Genetic modification capability/technology hardly exists today (too complex/not yet understood, etc..) But what if in Rapture one of the first/early ( 'hard'/'slow') developments was '''Brain-boost (administered in some slow tedious way, but capable of turning on much of that 90% of our brains we don't use -- not so drastic a genetic change (?) - something that is physiologically already there ). THAT THEN would make the 'Improved Brain-boost' easier to then create (using the unleashed mental abilities), and then the next better 'Super' one easy to create -- and thus result in sufficiently great(er) 'genius' to understand and create all the rest of these ADAM things (and features like the Packaging/Process for the Presto-Chango simple-one-step magic bottle) ?????? --- --- --- Some Plasmid/Gene Tonic (Predecessor) "Tools" were Created and Used for People's Occupations/Common Chores : * Electrobolt -("Sparky" ?) for jump-starting machinery, maybe for small electric spot welding (the hand buzzer shock joke would have been an obvious 'conversation piece' fad gimmick). Massage therapy with electric stimulus enhancement is mentioned in-game. Secondary effects might be 'insulation', which functioned to keep the user from shocking themselves. * Incinerate! - (bad name for a consumer product "Flame-O" ? Zippo ?) for lighting stoves/cigarettes. Small welding ??? (if you could get THAT hot, and sustain it for long - making a combustible organic material and igniting it in a chemical reaction ins't that hard). Flesh burns, so some kind of fireproofing effect. * Telekinesis - for lifting/moving things. (Or maybe it is just easier/tireless manual lift/fetch with no sense of 'strain' -- a kind of delusion ?) Strength enhancement to make it hardly seem like you threw anything... * Teleport - to save time getting places (again a perception of speeding up time rather than a real physics breaking 'Teleportation') "Time flies when you are Having Fun" (your brain overwhelmed with endorphins maybe ?). * Insect Swarm - for pollinating crops, disbursing chemicals - some kind of static (electricity/electrostatic ) dispersal projection (Please, not real bugs growing out of your hand ...) Delusions of the 'bugs' is related to what junkies sometimes see (cliche). * Ice freezing thingee (Winter Blast Plasmid, Ice Storm Tonic) Best without the blue crystal things growing out of your skull (though sideeffects may feel like it) . Yeah, that sideeffect could be overlooked by people... Really in a limited way this wouldn't be much more than a party trick (people DID have refrigerators in Rapture after all). The 'Glue' effect it evolved out of may have had more utility. Possibly a Cake Icing spraying effect ? * Brainboost - ("Smart Pills" "Concentration", "Focus") would have obvious uses (effects are to get more natural brain power working on a problem without distractions). Brain Boost would be popular, especially considering this is a technical society. There is also nice opportunity for much of it being 'Placebo Effect' to help with the claims about its effectiveness. Liquid Meditation .... * Other Tonic types might be for dexterity/coordination/speed (accelerated nerve stuff). For some reason these didn't seem to have as many sideeffects, but maybe they increased as the products evolved into more powerful types (or Fontaine/Atlas no longer cared how he maimed his followers, and simply needed MORE crude/easier-to-produce ADAM weapons). * Many ADAM products were advertised as intended for self-protection/self-defense uses (though, if produced that much earlier, what kind of society existed in Rapture that you NEEDED such stuff ?? Compare the price of Buying a gun/lock/lights VS staying hyped-up on expensive ADAM stuff constantly ?). Advertisements though do not mean the majority of people ever bought or used the ADAM products, and the product video tutorials we saw were 'trotted out' later during the Civil War period, when such things WERE used much-much more. * Many early ADAM products were shown/advertised with smaller/simpler implementations than their later Combat Version use (which the Player got in BS1 onward). Improved abilities of thinking or manual dexterity or strength, all those have obvious normal life/work advantages (if they are as effective as claimed). * ADAM was also useful (first) in medical treatment/surgery, and therapies use for various medical conditions. Earlier, that may have been the majority of ADAM use, until later discovered sideeffects could be identified and refined for useful actions. Incinerate! and Electro-Bolt (which we used), are extreme examples which probably were not in their final form BEFORE the war (and had more utility/tool value instead of 'zapping'/'crispifying' people). * Regeneration of the Brain might be a useful therapy to deal with ADAM (and other) damage sideeffects (particularly later when ADAM use started noticeably causing such things) and then exercising the brain to reform/relearn upon the regenerated tissue. * It was also a social thing, a novelty, a fad, and some people looked upon it as a desirable attention getting luxury (quite expensive at the start and in-demand when introduced for 'flavors' with fancy new features). People were convinced by such people as Steinman - that there was "No excuse to be plain when you could be fair", into using ADAM products for pricey cosmetic surgery. Further developments improved competitiveness in certain activities and supposedly impacted jobs (possibly more perception rather than in actuality). Most everyone later seemed to be in a position that they could afford to use ADAM products ( inexpensive use evidenced by the expanded widespread advertising ). * Consider that In Real Life (a working society) there is NO WAY you would have an entire society, especially an Objectivist one, all 'on' (using) the same untested drugs. People just aren't that stupid ... OR at the very least, many would be scared/cautious of such risk taking. Some might not even have the money available for it. Just a few rumors of bad side-effects (made visible in a Free Press ...) would have many people think twice and avoid ADAM. The Newspapers wouldn't be able to stay away from writing stories about such horrible things. Given time, the defects would have publicly been made pretty obvious (quite early actually), and would prevent large numbers of people from wanting to use it. - This "Addiction" - what kind of symptoms ? The greater and more debilitating they are, the more visible/obvious they will be (and off-putting and frightening) to many people. The story is that the symptoms didn't manifest in any significant extent (and thus the actual use levels early were fairly low or of less complications). A simple mental calculation done by a potential ADAM product user : Do the Gains outweigh the Risks ?? - for carnival trick fad type ADAM products, many people may largely avoid them or abandon them when they 'got old' (particularly if other Technological Avenues are as good or better, or cheaper - exciting innovations in lots of other technologies were possible in Rapture). While things were 'normal' in Rapture, and ADAM supplies were cheap(enough) and available, then many people might keep their addictions under control. Many people's use might be 'casual'. Only later they might get desperate, as Atlas's monsters were stalking the streets and disrupting the whole City's society. From the story : many Citizens then needed/sought some equivalent measures to defend themselves (even Ryan's trained security men couldn't easily face the Splicer's advantages with standard weapons). Guns probably would still be the chosen method (many men had been soldiers in the previous WW2 years), and just because a Splicer can shoot fireballs out of their hand doesn't mean they are particularly accurate or invulnerable to bullets. Supplies of ADAM then (at the start of Civil War) also were disrupted, just at a time when many more people became users. This was 3+ months after Fontaine Futuristics operation was disrupted (Fontaine's death and the 'Seizing'). So WAS the old production level of ADAM even equaled by then ? Let alone there being enough ADAM for many times the previous demand, after the Panic being created by the Kashmir Incident and other escalating dangers ? --- --- --- Insta Change Plasmids : The quick insta-change things (ie- weapons/ammo) may be only a perception (since we are either a Alpha Big Daddy or a conditioned/ADAM-addled human) that we just don't notice that we pull a wheelbarrow along behind us with all that stuff, and are not conscious of turning around briefly to put down one weapon and pick up another. Similarly, the Plasmids (we can swap between in the game) should take time to shift/build, and we just don't pay attention while the time goes by, and suddenly there's that completely different structure in a hand or the brain (or whatever) reshapes itself for the new function. Actually that does NOT make sense since any Splicer we are fighting isn't going to wait. A real Big Daddy may be strong enough to carry that many weapons, and Jack was 'engineered' possibly to be very strong (and who knows what all was IN that first Plasmid that Fontaine gave us). The Plasmid thing ? Maybe for Delta ... who knows what mess is under that suit - all the Plasmid stuff in a mess that the outlet port that is visible might flip between (versus the entire instant rearrangement of you genetics/body structure). When we initially take the Plasmids and the genetic changes are being done, it could be back to that 'We just don't notice stuff' effect again, and it might take half an hour for all we realize.. (Heh, or is it just Splicer etiquette that one doesn't attack when someone else is mutating a Plasmid ...) - As I mentioned before : In the book there wasn't mentioned Splicers with that-many (multiple) Plasmids operational, and some like Cohen who took his Plasmid/Tonic "Cocktails" for 'the rush' didn't really use them at that time in THAT story. and they may have already used the same ones previously and took a 'booster'. All the maniac Splicers generally used one Plasmid. No Jack or Delta or super-Atlas existed in the book. --- --- --- The Teleportation Plasmid : There has been been discussions about whether the Teleport done by Splicers is REAL 'Teleportation', or more a kind of mind jamming/illusion, which between locations they actually walk (allegedly you can see their steps going through water while they are invisible - Ex- in Triton Theater Lobby, I recall). Anyway, The Bottle flying around/hovering (uninjected, yet with a mind of its own ?) and Teleporting YOU (and you faithful Flybots?) may likewise have another explanation (instead of some physics defying magic potion). It could rather be an induced hallucination (I forget - we get dumped at the end in a different location - well, we sleep-walked there under while under delusion...) Heh, we could just as well have used its hovering/flying ability as a separate Plasmid/Tonic (hmm, its got Quantum Particles in it - to suspend you in the air as well as to 'Keep your breath fresh' !!!) Teleportation (by the Player) was discarded because it would have upset alot of the choreographed game situations/scenes, and would require too much scripting to generalize its effect everywhere in the game. So cutting it out as a general use Plasmid was simply a practicality. --- --- --- ReJuvena (Tonic) from Sinclair Solutions : Interesting that this ReJuvena product is offered by Sinclair Solutions (versus others shown from Ryan Industries or Fontaine Futuristics), which shows that he produced his own ADAM products, as well as his doing ADAM product testing for Ryan Industries (and others). This is also before the Kashmir Incident (?), as how many people would be interested in cosmetic stuff after the Civil War started (better things to spend ADAM on..). Also, by then, stories about a crazed Dr Steinman would have already been around, making him not the best example for the Tonic's advertisement. It might be that ReJuvena was a Tonic which could alleviate some of the cosmetic effects of Splicing (and thus might be in high demand ($$$) as those side-effects increased in the population - something Sinclair would think of ...). And as such, might be a clue to some process for an eventual cure for the "ADAM Sickness". --- --- --- More Conventional Health Fix ADAM Drugs/Therapies : In-Game mentioned : * Anti-TB Tonic ( still common disease of that era, even after the antibiotic for it) * Phlossy teeth fixer (excessive phosphorus absorption) * Skin Tightening Tonic * Slim-Down * Tanning Tonic ?? * Hair Restoration They Also Shoulda had Tonics like : * Stop-Bends (for treating divers Decompression sickness, which can also happen in other circumstances when not diving) * Cancer-No-More - actually Fontaine probably was asking for this to get even more profits from people marred by his tumor causing Plasmids. * Breast Enlargement (and similar other 'enlargements' ...) * Fat B Gone (Ladies Prefer the Athletic Physique instead of a Bloated Monster) * Concentration (including Children's version 'Sit Down and Shut Up' ) * Migraine-B-Gone (some people would pay a fortune for this one) --- --- --- Minervas Den Magnetic Locks - prove Telekinesis aint so (...is faked) : ' You throw the Gravity Well over that strangely insecure 'hole above the wall' (or a Rocket Spear) to pull out the "Magno-electronic Resistor" thingees to shutdown the Magnetic Lock --- Why doesn't Telekinesis work for that ?? Simple - Because Telekinesis ISN'T any real Telekinesis - it is faked, with you actually delusionally running around picking up stuff and throwing it, while your mind (and other people's) is jammed by your Plasmids pseudo-psi effect (nerve jangler/ flashing light/ chemical hallucinogen/ etc...). No "Laws of Physics" breaking 'mental power' is required (Rapture is Sci-Fi not Harrypotterland Fantasy BS). "Telekinesis" sounds better for Marketing than "Run Around Grab and Throw Stuff, while you Cloud Peoples Minds", though doesn't it ?? Not too many Splicers wound up using this Plasmid - maybe because it really doesn't do much for you which you can't do anyway (they just picked up stuff and threw it at you normally, or used a more fun Plasmid) ... --- --- --- ' Incinerate! Using Chemicals : ' The chemical whatever it is does not have to be ignited inside the body (Ever see a fire breathing act ?). Mixing enzyme chemicals becoming Superheated or on contact with air might cause ignition (burst fuel component into flame). Just have a basic biofuel at body/room temperature that isn't likely to do damage to the body. Why even need genetically mutated insulation built in to body or whatnot for flame heat ? That's more complicated to do). A Bombardier Beetle (a real organism - a bug) actually produces steam internally (via a chemical reaction) to project its foul liquid a good distance at an enemy. That mechanism might be useful for projection, or alternately there could be a muscle contraction super-soaker-like physiological structure. Spew a alcohol/paraffin/some-other hydrocarbon with some air-reactive enzyme/catalyst etc... No need to parboil yourself on the inside. The harder one is the cold projection Plasmid - its harder to pull heat than generate it - cryogenic fluids in the body can be bad - that's why I substituted some fast setting crystalline gluey gunk for some 'frozen effect', though the shatter effects need something else (stuff shatters and body is gone ?? well how does a body turn into a 'Lockbox' magically or eventually disappears by itself - some of these game facilitating mechanisms just have to be dismissed for any needed explanation short of "the Game Makers couldn't figure out a better way" ). --- --- --- 'ADAM Projected Mental Effects : There are/would be no actual 'Psi' (Psionic - projected mental) effects - that's Fantasy gorp, so we need something to simulate similar effects which we think we see in the game. Physiological Brain Jamming would be easier than projecting some "precisely" controlled image into someone else's brain Any kind of complex coherence that you 'project' into a brain's holographically-structured Thought Processing is a whole separate issue - assuming you have the 'projecting' ability. I would lean heavily on some simpler brain/sensory jam/stun mechanism. Real World analogies : * Flashing lights causing epileptic seizures (sensory over stimulation) * Baking parts of the brain with microwaves to disrupt normal brain activity * High frequency Sonics (certain frequencies harmonics affecting nerves) * Hallucinogenic chemicals being projected (may not work on BD if he's on internal air supply). * Ultrasonics jangling nerves (there is real tech that Police are testing TODAY of THIS type). These all vary in their method/complexity to implement, and would require some biological mechanism (in the Plasmid User) to generate them, one which a Plasmid has to build within the Splicer's body (and hopefully also shield the user from their own effects). - Justification for other Plasmids/Tonics : How to scientifically explain certain seemingly impossible ADAM-created Power's created `for the writer's suggested 'Hey this will be neat to have' game design. (Unless you wan't to descend into utter Fantasy Magic like Infinite BS did) How they could work (Without some weird fake/contrary Physics like, they have in Infinite) : * Incinerate! : ** Real projection of a flaming blob of matter, or one that ignites on contact (and sticks and sets fire to the target) Fire hurts alot, producing the effects seen in-game. ** Flame eater trick is pretty close - spewing ignited alcohol(fuel) out of mouth to create its 'flame'(in dark Rapture the effect is even more visible). ** Real fire/flame can set objects on fire (including those fun pools of flamables in the terrain) * Winter Blast : ** Bio-glue projected, fast setting (and its rapid evaporation/setting reaction feeling 'cold' ...) - Superglue cyanocrylates leave a frosty residue too) ** Psi - a 'frozen' impression upon target (more implied than actual - stunned target feels frozen ** Misting special effects * Teleport (Used by Houdini Splicers. Player use was only in Multi-Player, or that weird experimental thing in Fontaine Futuristics) : ** Psi clouding of the target's mind (like The Shadow Old Radio Show) ** User walks/runs/climbs/jumps(?) to new location to suddenly 'appear' when the mental stun (clouding) wears off (generally you notice it isn't too far a distance ** 'Smoke'(the puff of smoke might be a real physics chemical exuded), ** Sound effects to assist the illusion (The ringing bell - ringing in your ears - indicates brain being zapped ?) Don't they say people hear a ringing in their ears when they are suffering a stroke ???) ** Time distortion for the user (and 'believing' you are actually Teleporting) * Telekinesis : ** Psi 'mental clouding' to cover 'the sham' ** Strength needed to throw ('move') objects normally ** You really just Walk over and pick stuff up (reach up pull it down) and bring it back -- where you run over and grab the thing and then quickly run back ?? And throwing is you again just with alot of brute like strength. ** Alternate 'Spiderman-like web' type web tossed and retrieved (pulling of things... objects) ** 'Pickup/Pulling' and 'Throwing' is generally within the weight and range limits of the Brute Strength (Tonic) effects. There are also many thing that you can't pickup with it (particularly when they are behind obstacles that block normal movement) - Audio Diaries, Plasmids, various corpses don't seem to want to be be affacted. So for all of the above : Add the 'delusion' that you are doing it with your mind, while you are actually doing it manually making use of the Plasmid IS possible (better than it being some Magic/Fantasy non-real world Fantasy Faux-Physics). Impulse throw ?? of chemical ejection - cloud of chemical around you affecting those nearby (particularly Splicers who are already semi-crazy) Some kind of Pheromone-like effect. * Electro-Bolt ** Variant on electric eel physiology (a real biological analogy which creates electricity in living tissue) with projected strands of double fibrous conductive path and a high enough voltage (ie- taser) ** Brain stun/nerve disruption adds to the 'shock' upon the target ** The real electrical component needed because of the ability to 'shock' objects, and with that amplified effect in water (grounded target) *'Cyclone Trap' : ** Organic explosive left on ground 'exuded' by the human caster ** Actually a deposited chemical explosive expectorated from your body (Is it any wonder you are conditioned to see it as a whirling cyclone instead of a disgusting explosive glob of mucus ? ) ** With it laying on the ground, of course the target that sets it off gets blown sideways ** Charged with Bees - those blobs of pain toxins get blown onto the target * Target Dummy ** Psi misdirection (a bit more complex than 'disruption'/clouding) but something to distract others around you and mask your presence/exact location * Hypnotize Big Daddy ** Throw blob bio-repeater chemical activation (Little Sister emulation/confusion) ** Psi trigger of Big Daddy conditioning * Insect Swarm ** Pseudo 'Psi' effect (bugs crawling all over you drug hallucination) ** Damage is target self-inflicted, or a toxin * Security Bullseye ** Psi signal or is it a chemical marker the security systems easily see (marked as 'foe') ** Tonal/Optical activation used by Security devices * Sonic Boom ** Psi effect - targets reaction (not reflexive) to false stimulation ** Ultra Frequency Sonic Stun --- --- --- Tonics : Affects user, so employs biologically-based changes (physical/mental), made locally with no need to 'project' over distance. * Some effects are 'On Contact' (ie- Electric Flesh) * Less energy intensive effects than Plasmids, more continuous (requiring a bulked up metabolism). Apparently doesn't use EVE. * Natural Camouflage ** Psi type mental clouding area effect ?? Some kind of physical masking or jamming. Including working against machines (biological components in them maybe ?) * Peeping Tom (X-ray Vision in BaS2) ??? Used for the 'stealth' (though clever Player peeking with their own eye could have probably worked just as well). ** It is kinda hard to scientificly justify (like the Minervas Den 'Gravity Well' thing) when there is no biological equivalent (no real organism sees x-rays OR projects x-rays). SO what alternate explanation ? ** It is really (plausibly) Hyper Hearing with directional ability, and the user just thinks they see a persons outlined location (the 'suggestion' effect upon the Spliver user)? ** Another (maybe) more logical game mechanism in BaSxfor this might have been 'The X-Ray Research Camera' - a high-tech device which in-game would have to be used with a narrow obscured view and with a delay when switching to a weapon (so that it wouldn't become too much a crutch by being used all the time so perfectly). Actually the original 'Research Cameras' used a 'see through' X-ray-like technology to spot typical Plasmid tissue irregularities in targets to allow classifying them. * Energy discharge 'defensives' (shock/freeze/fire) - Brain Boost - Opener of Many Doors : Results did vary for the recipients and just because someone can think faster or remember more does not mean that what they think of will produce anything of use. Usually, the best results were seen from people who already had the inclination to produce ideas, technologies and products (but then there were many in Rapture like that). TV shows, book writing, music, poetry also saw improvements and an increased production. As mentioned elsewhere, ADAM researchers using early Brain Boost accelerated its developments and improvement, which then brought even greater effectiveness. That further resulted in many complex Plasmids and Tonics which otherwise wouldnt have been possible. There may have been a renaissance of better products in Rapture, because of Brain Boost's superior/accelerated abilities being applied. (and Brain Boost plus Computers to speed calculations...) Hard-to-get products and inferior Rapture-made replacements might be 'figured out'. First how to produce them locally and then how to make enough of them cheaply to satisfy a consumer market. Again, not every brain was capable of positive results in these endeavors, and alot of odd and useless things which seemed 'a good idea' were also produced and discarded. MMORPG Players may find a multitude of such odd things scattered about in the Ruins. It should be left to the Player Creators to make alot of such 'odd' things and it may serve as a dumping ground for some 'wrong ideas' and 'invalid' objects which would be mutated into failed bizarre (and amusing) objects to be found once in a while. - Myth - Brain Boost used on a Cat : Probably would be a bad idea to start with, but as most ADAM based technology involved human genetics the whole set of knowledge would have to be reworked to get to the point anything useful could be achieved for 'cats'. Would anyone bother to spend all that money and time and expertise to do that ?? Some individuals may have experimented and largely resulted in sick kitties. A different mechanism where Rapture's vermin consumed bits of ADAM infused refuse and corpses on a much wider scale would eventually produce positive results (at the cost of large numbers also being poisoned or impaired) as the surviving population re-multiplied. --- --- --- Ice Maker Machine IN YOUR HAND!!! : ''' The Freeze Plasmid (before Winter Blast) was fairly limited (and the ADAM-dependent costing of it not being cheap for what it did). It was best as a party gimmick, as something to show off. Later Tonics like Ice Storm applied 'cold' to miscreants who hit the user (direct contact). There is a physical way (not chemical) to 'freeze' something via an Endothermic reaction (like suddenly adding alot of certain salts to water) which can suddenly going into solution absorb heat sufficient for a 'cold pack' to turn a small amount of water into ice. Quickly vaporizing (evaporation) of chemicals like alcohol can absorb heat also. Unfortunately, the amount of energy/heat absorbed by an amount of these 'mixed' chemicals is fairly small, and limits the mass that can be cooled to the freezing point. So unless there is some kind of cryogenic storage with a regenerative process that progressively creates a small amount of VERY super-cold material (which is then saved up), then no large-scale freezing could work. You still then have to deal with storing' this 'cryogenic' material which is cold enough to freeze flesh -- requiring somekind of multi-staged vacuum(?) or layered dissimilar insulators formed out of body tissue to prevent the material from sucking all the heat out of the rest of the user's body ... Applying this Freezing remotely would require projecting the cryogenic material quickly (preferably densely) into contact with a target. It is somewhat more plausible for the Combat Plasmid (Winter Blast) to be more a 'glue' than a 'freeze' to produce the large scale effects we are shown, instead of a human becoming little more than a cryogenic super-soaker. Glue substances can be quite strong and DON'T have to be stores below minus 70 degrees. For bulk consumer ice, ice-making machines (even built into household refrigerators) are still the practical way. Some waiter at a fancy restaurant refilling ice cubes might be the largest practical ice production of that type of 'Plasmid' (immediate use on small scale and no long accumulated super-cold storage). --- --- --- '''The Simpler (Early) Plasmids/Tonics Which Were Eventually Changed into Combat Plasmids (those ones we got to use in the games): Typical Early Plasmids : * Starting fires/flames like a cigarette lighter (a fad gimmick) * Presto-Ice Cubes (chill a drink and not much more with a 'endothermic' heat-absorbing ??? reaction) * Battery-Charge/Mr Lightbulb/Sparky (electric) Lighter Electric shocks(jokes) * Defensive Plasmids like 'Psi' mind-jammers to be 'invisible'or obscured or distracted (including inducing distractions like feeling bugs crawling/stinging all over you) - used as a defense to distract a 'criminal' * Tonics for Physiological Greater Strength/Speed/Dexterity/Mental-acuity/Concentration useful in various fields of work During 'normal' Rapture days, you were not supposed to use ADAM effects on other people without their permission (unless they were perpetrating a crime upon you or your property). Many of the 'Cloud the Mind' type effects were seen as 'antagonistic', so weren't as popular (served as an avenue for abuse by dishonest people, or possibly the headaches they gave to the user). Commonly available 'Improved Perception' products (ie- the alleged X-ray Vision which might have been really a type of 'Hearing' Enhancement') likewise might infringe on peoples Privacy, but could also have general utility and 'public' compatible uses (as usual the issue of freedom to use things that MIGHT be put to less savory uses). --- --- --- I take Fantasy as Fantasy, and Sci-Fi as Sci-Fi. 'People' can 'wonder' all they want about my motives ''' There is this term 'immersion' that is important to (some) games, and it has ALOT to do with being able to take things at 'face value'. Very small things which when done WRONGLY/UNREALISTICALLY in the game can 'break' that immersion, and spoil the game setting for the Player. An example is : The BS1/BS2 Bees (Insect Swarm Plasmid) thing is a bit hard to justify (just one of a number in BioShock), when they attempt explain it (in the game) as being the product of scientifically engineered genetic modification -- there's a consistency problem (This because for the game developers some whizzbang (pretty) 'ideas' trumped the game's Sci-Fi premise). I don't care much for '''Psi (magical brain mental effects which have NO physiological basis in real life) effects, but STRONG magnetic fields CAN (Real World) effect brain activity, as can epileptic-seizure-inducing flashing lights (and such). So at least there is a 'foot in the door' for a some kind of technical explanation (ie- retroactively explains why an Alpha Daddy inside a closed/sealed diving suit is effected by these 'insects'). Painfully poisonous biological sub-organisms/projectiles launched at a target might still work too (fits ADAM as a 'biological' technology), and the 'Insect' aspect would be more IMAGINED, as the target is disabled by their shrieks of pain). --- --- --- Gravity Well Plasmid Is Physics Stupidity - Did They Even Think ? ''' : find Gravity Well (I explained it really being a 'glue' idea) ^^^ The Gravity Well Plasmid is seen in Minerva's Den (DLC for BS2). Subject Sigma allegedly can throw a "blackhole" polyp/orb which then bursts (on impact if it hits an enemy). It sucks in nearby corpses/objects/enemies into a swirling vortex of destruction. To top that, its upgrade also incredibly "Splashes Acid" for some reason (( ''Very Sad, that they couldn't think of anything else better '' )). There the writers went to La-La-Land with these Gravity shitzoidinal whizzbangs (Was THIS really the 'best' they could think of while doing the DLC - was it that much of a rush job ? Or was it just the 'neat' effect that sold them ?? Something else they had worked on simply failed and then they had to use this Plasmid idea in a hurry ?) Try to realistically explain 'gravity' in a blob -- Even after you ignore it supposingly being a fantasy Psi-powered 'genetically' created ability to do it. This is a blatantly Magic Power that would make J R Tolkein incredulous (and nauseous). And if such are PSI powers now are being allowed, couldn't they have thought up something MUCH more spectacular/interesting -- reflecting THAT absurd/open-ended level of magic fantasy (of course subject to the limitations of that old UE3 Game Engine). AND That Upgrade with 'Acid' - That tops the cake. Wow, that is even a greater asininity (squared). '''WTF does it have to do with gravity ?? Sounds like they were wholly out of ideas and imagination at that point. Or was it they didn't want to do the work for some more complicated ENHANCED/UPGRADED visual effect ( 'Went with some first-thought-of "good enuf" thing they arse-stormed' )??? Or was it they just didn't give a damn any more ??? How about Crushing the nearby Target(s) into the Floor (use 'Rag Doll Physics' effects on the bodies) AND some weird blueish Cherenkov Radiation moire pattern light show -- That might have been a better bit of continuity with its 'Gravity theme', no ?? A "Ba-Whumfff", and within a radius everything is pulled flat, crushed to the floor. (?) I never thought to put one right next to myself to see what happens. BTW, You could use the RocketSpears to displace the door circuit thingees firing through that convenient hole above the window (so you didn't really need this 'gravity' thing anyway to get past that 'lock'). --- --- --- Secondary Products for ADAM Users : Moisturizer for the !Incinerate port on your hand - at least for the earlier less extravagant products -- as in later more expedient times, for the Combat Plasmids there's not so much caring about secondary stuff, AND you don't have the ADAM to spare. Since !Incinerate would be a cruder 'combat' Plasmid, such niceties weren't available - probably just rubbing it with crankcase oil or similar would have been improvised by the 'troops' who had this Plasmid. - Actually " !Incinerate " is NOT promotional-wise a good name for something that is supposed to be a household 'convenience' product, and THAT advertisement we see (in-game) would need to be 'Fixed' in the MMORPG. We can use the MMORPG's Player Creativity to come up with the whole progression of Predecessor Products - many possibly still available (MMORPG Player usable). 'Presto Match' (for something like what Booker is shown to use in BaSx) would be much closer to what that advertisement should have been for. How probable is it you get sophisticated advertisement for something like the real "!Incinerate" if Rapture is in the 'civil war' panic/desperation ??? Not likely. ( ref though Rapture may have been alot more orderly than the game implies even upto the time of BS1). SO an additional Tonic/Plasmid Asset development process (Attributes, Templates, Tools) for the MMORPG system. Its a bit more complicated when tapping into game mechanics for physical effects, somewhat less difficult for activation appearance (graphics/sounds/animations). Of course you cannot have in-game development of any-old Plasmid/Tonic, as players go crazy with such a game mechanism - the (created outside of game) Player-added stuff would all be coordinated/balanced/limited to match a logical game world, eliminating the usual duplication/recombination/absurd-super-power type things which would usually result. (Same goes for weapons, etc ...) Any in-game Player Fabrication' progressions would be pre-canned/well-designed (even if they still have option trees and such other variability. So now you also *ADD* to the game all the malfunction and side-effects and 'trial and error' failure attributes resulting from a more realistic in-game 'Genetic' development process. (Malfunctions/etc.. would be there already as part of any game ADAM use). For the MMORPG , add (Assets) all the secondary aspects like the various advertisements, user manual/instruction, deployment method for the ADAM product, NPC use, etc. Consider that MANY alternate Plasmids/Tonics may have previously existed in Rapture, but are simply not to be found any more (long gone/used up/past their expiration date, etc...), thus the actual Plasmid/Tonic need NOT be in the game, but the secondary stuff like advertisements might still be (some fairly hair-brained/amusing/proposed bad ideas). --- --- --- An Additional ADAM Product : ''' "Lighthouse" Plasmid - 'Bring a little light to the darkness' (Advertising Jingle...) - a hand palm flashlight ? "Never can find a flashlight when you need it ?? Batteries always dead ?? No Longer with Ryan Labs new 'Lighthouse'." "Threatened by Rowdies ?? Tell them to not come too close or be wrecked on the rocks..." "A Brighter-than-the-Sun blast in their faces - blind them and just walk away!!!" Bioluminescence was a quite possible mechanism (extremely bright flashing, or epilepsy triggering strobing as a defensive measure ...) Later, Splicers signal to each other through coded flashes ... (mini-light on fingertip ?) Eerie glowing hands sometimes being seen on some corpses... (Hmmm, some Splicer using such a 'hand' as their 'nightlite' ... convenient when matches/candles were scarce and a working Zippo Lighter wasn't to be had for all the ADAM in Rapture.) --- --- --- '''Little Things Like Telekinesis Not Working To Get/Grab Tonic/Plasmid Bottles or Accu-Vox : Ever try to 'pull' one of those (keylock) locked-away objects with Telekinesis -- but it didn't work ??? They could simply have had consistent behavior of Telekinesis and just been more creative in placing them in a way that would block the Telekinesis 'pull'. At points in the games where you couldn't possibly have Telekinesis yet, then there is no problem. For the MMORPG, things should work the way you would expect them to work, so you don't have to get mixed up or double think everything you do. (Of course the Telekinesis Plasmid is a sham/fake, being just mental warpage to simulate Telekinesis, and so something truly 'Out of Reach' could not be 'pulled' -- UNLESS the real Plasmid works via some Spiderman Spider Silk (physical) mechanics ... If you can spit balls of flaming material out of your hands (physically possible), then WHY NOT a strong sticky fiber being extruded that fastens and shrinks pulling the item back towards you ?????) --- --- --- Unstable Teleport Plasmid Seen In BS2 : Theres been discussions about whether the Teleport done by Splicers is real 'Teleportation', or it being more a kind of mind-jamming, which between locations the user walks (allegedly in-game you can see the Houdini Splicer's steps going through water while they are invisible - in Triton Theater Lobby I recall). Anyway, The Bottle flying around/hovering (uninjected, yet with a mind of its own?) and teleporting YOU (and your flybots?) may likewise have another explanation (versus some physics defying magic potion) --- It just being an induced hallucination (I forget - we get dumped at the end in a different location -- well we sleep-walked there while under the delusion...) Heh, We could just as well used its hovering/flying ability as a separate Plasmid/Tonic (Hmm, its got the levitating Quantum Particles in it - to suspend you in the air as well as to 'keep your breath fresh !!!' as per the advertisements). --- Simple Reason Teleport (plasmid) Not Included (for the Player) in the BioShock Game : It would break most of the mechanism that kept you (Player) from getting past obstacles and cause more places you could access (and thus require more terrain detail they would have to do properly, instead of from the floor's limited viewpoints). * The map levels would have to be more complicated to support the ability. * Teleporting to other side of windows (past locked doors) * Teleport past many opponents, security systems, traps, directly to grab goodies. * Teleport easily around movement-limiting obstacles (messing up triggers to set-piece situations). * More complex 'destination' targeting is required (it can't just be within sight to 'aim', we've seen that Houdini Splicers aren't limited to that) * Teleport up/down where normal movement couldn't reach (ie- out of range of Thuggish Splicers/BD physical attacks). Having such a Plasmid would have invalidated the typical choreographed situations (would be able to bypass many of the simple blockages/limiting terrain features), and would require too much scripting to generalize its effect everywhere in the game. So cutting that Plasmid was simply a practicality. Fake Teleport (illusional) -- maybe they could have done (for the Player to use) . You still have your limitations on movement, as you are basically just Cloaked - it could have been a game effect like 'Frodo putting on the Ring' (with similar weird/interesting visual effects). To keep you from employing it endlessly, you might get disoriented yourself if you use it too frequently, and/or it could use up a very large amount of EVE (like 2 shots worth). --- --- --- Add A Wiki Page for ADAM Products/Technology : * Explanations of individual Plasmids/Tonics * Why/What they were intended for * How they might work (ditching the worst of their Physics-defying aspects) --- --- --- Hypnotize Orb - Start of Bioshock 2 : We have used the Plasmid which makes the Big Daddy want to protect us in the game from hostiles. ( http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/Hypnotize_Big_Daddy ). That Plasmid is simply triggering an existing conditioning. But Sofia Lamb is shown using something more complex which allows her to give Delta specific orders for specific actions. She orders you (Delta) to fire a gun into your own head, which BTW is contrary to very powerful self-preservation instincts and not part of any 'Protector' conditioning. Unfortunately this is yet another (too frequent) case of "The Plot calls for It" in the Game. The whole story might be quite different if Delta, following the huge amount of conditioning to protect his Little Sister, hesitated momentarily and then emptied the gun into Sofia Lamb. Since this bit of illogic is 'Canon', there must be more to the situation which can be played out in MMORPG Flashbacks to make it more plausible. Did Sofia use that Plasmid to help set up her little collectivist Regime ? (Had she used it to gain control of Persephone previously ?) Where did that Plasmid come from and where did it go -- as we did not see it used later when Delta came back from the dead ? Too Powerful to trust to her minions?? If a minion (who was the one actually employing it) of Sofia's had a Hypnotize Plasmid with such power, was her next action to instantly kill that minion before it got ideas and turned it on her ??? If not, we might have had Franky X, King of Southern Rapture to later save Eleanor from, and instead of that First Utopian stuff something a bit more Al Capone-ish to play thru against in BS2. (Hmm, save that idea for one of the other MMORPG Factions ...) Thinking about it, if you can recreate Flashbacks for illustrating New Lore for the Rapture Universe, using the games tools, then you can also create "Might Have Beens" and dreams (with amusing twisted events and a psychotic as any deranged Splicer might imagine). Whole Weird-Alternate-Rapture could exist to amuse players with, and to allow creators even more freedom for their imaginations. (Please Tell Me Again how Ken Levine supposedly "Pushes the Envelope" ...) --- --- --- "Spider Trap" and "Fungal Healing" : Infinite BS Vigors (Proposed) ' : We could have used that first one to assist against Spider Splicers in Rapture. Tieing up enemies temporarily so you could get closer or concentrate on fewer opponents (or block a path on the battlefield) Antibiotics (many from fungus's) - perhaps though of just for its stylized mushroom themed bottle. It might've been an alternate 'heal' you used during most desperate large/hard battles. Nothing says there couldn't be some 'new' Plasmids like these in the MMORPG (experimental you understand, and fraught with unexpected results/failure). --- --- --- '"WHO IS FATASS ?" ''' - The 'Slimdown' Tonic, advertisement poster A takeoff of the "Who is Atlas" poster ... --- --- --- '''Minerva's Den Plasmid Go Into Lala-Land : They had to have something 'new' and 'neat looking', SO IT WENT 'STUPID'. If that Gravity-Well Plasnid thing was actually making gravity, you could have merely fired it AT the door, have it stick there (or a challenge to place one near the base of the door if they don't stick) and have its gravity wave pull thru the door/wall to disrupt those 'Resistors'. That's how Real Physics 'grevity' works. For some reason, this alleged gravity whatzit doesn't seem to go thru walls - thus requiring that ridiculous hole above the wall outside the secured area that any Spider Splicer (or Splicer with a ladder) could get up thru. I wont even begin to comment on that 'advanced' Gravity-Well version that splashes acid. --- --- --- Raptures Rapid Acceleration of Technology Developments : Real genetic change capability/technology largely doesn't exist even today as it is too complex/not yet understood, etc.. But if we did have an ADAM-type ability to have a human produce alot of Stem-Cells in their body, we would be much further along. WHAT IF in Rapture, one of the first ( 'hard'/'slow') developments was 'Brain Boost' (administered initially in some slow tedious way, but capable of turning on much of that 90% of our Brains we dont use -- not so drastic a genetic change - of something that is largely already there )? Which, in turn, some unleashed brilliance then made the 'improved Brain-Boost' easier to create, AND then made the next better 'super' version even easier to create?? Thus resulting in ever greater 'Genius' to understand and create all the rest of these ADAM things (and the packaging for the immediate-activating simple-one-step magic bottle) ?????? We never heard if Suchong/Gibert Alexander/others were Brain-Boosted, or if THEIR talents were fully natural. Brain Boost's Mantra - " I am going to Do something Smart Today" ... --- --- --- More ADAM Products : A Tonic - "Hold It", which allows the user to make less-frequent restroom trips (and can stay at work for a sustained time, to be more 'Competitive'...). Jack seemed to already possess this one before Hijacking the plane because the whole time we are there in Rapture we don't ever seem to need to go use the restrooms (we assume that was one activity a 4 year old accelerated mutant still did). Delta and Sigma just use the built-in system in their suits ... Duke Nukem type in-game utility of the Restrooms in the MMORPG (not just washing your hands). And the always amusing scene of opening the stall door to find a Splicer sitting there. --- --- --- --- --- . .